some writing about some things

Homebrew: Pliny the Elder Clone

I had a Pliny the Elder for the first time when Laura and I were out in California over Labor Day weekend, so I thought that would be a fun beer to try for a second all grain batch. It’s an Imperial IPA with a ton of hops, but very well balanced and smooth, not too bitter at all. I just had one pint, but felt like I could drink a few and not tire of it at all. It was one of the best tasting IPAs that I’ve ever had.

The recipe I used was originally from byo magazine, so not sure how close it is to the original. It is a lot of hops. This is the first time I’ve done a mash hop addition, and the recipe called for whole hops but my local store only had pellets, so I used them anyway. I just transferred this to a secondary fermenter last week and it is quite bitter, so I’m hoping it smoothes out a bit in the next month or so. I think I came in a little low on my OG (closer to 1.065) and so that may contribute to some of the bitterness.

Pliny the Elder (Russian River Brewing Company)With assistance from Vinnie Cilurzo of the Russian River Brewing Company